Texas Tech athletic director Kirby Hocutt announced the news with a video posted on Twitter not long after.

"Wreck 'em Tech," Kingsbury said in the video, giving the school's Guns Up sign when the camera panned to him.

Kingsbury, who spent this season as Texas A&M's offensive coordinator, is no stranger to Texas Tech.

As a quarterback at the school from 1998-2002, he shattered records and became one of the most celebrated players in the program's history.

That success as a player was equally impressive on the sidelines.

"It's just been a whirlwind but I couldn't be happier, beyond ecstatic to be back. It feels like home," Kingsbury said after landing in Lubbock on Wednesday night. "This is where I wanted to be, it's where I've wanted to be."

He was the co-offensive coordinator at Houston, coaching quarterback Case Keenum. And at Texas A&M, he has guided the country’s third-most prolific offense to an average of 552.3 yards of total offense a game.

He also can add Heisman Trophy winning quarterback Johnny Manziel to his resume as a protégé.

"He understands," Kingsbury said of Manziel. "He knows how I feel about him. He's as good a player as I've ever seen and probably the fiercest competitor I've ever been around, so it was definitely hard with that. But this is where I belong."

Clemson offensive coordinator Chad Morris, a coach with deep roots as a longtime Texas high schools coach, also interviewed for the job.

In the end, Hocutt tapped Kingsbury after the abrupt departure on Saturday of Tuberville.